Hogwarts or the Hellmouth: Which to choose
by Mechconstrictor
Summary: Summary: Harry is asked to go to Sunnydale and pick up something for Dumbledore. In the process, he gets drunk and married. How would a dark, sarcastic Harry face the world with the Slayer besides him? Harry/Buffy.
1. Chapter  01 To the Hellmouth

Hogwarts or the Hellmouth: Which to choose

Chapter 01- To the Hellmouth

Summary: Harry is asked to go to Sunnydale and pick up something for Dumbledore. In the process, he gets drunk and married. How would a dark, sarcastic Harry face the world with the Slayer besides him? Harry/Buffy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Buffy. The plot is the only thing that I created myself.

000

Hogwarts

"Good evening, Harry," Dumbledore said as he walked into his office. He shook his head as he saw that Harry had already taken the chair behind the desk. "I see that you've already made yourself at home."

Not bothering to take his feet off the desk, he said, "You'll the one who called me. Don't forget that. I'd be just as happy to stay in the library. At least then I can avoid most of those morons."

"Come now," Dumbledore said jovially. "They're your friends. You…"

"Friends?" he snorted. Harry was starting to think that Dumbledore actually believed the bull that was coming out of his mouth. "Some friends they are. I'd feel safer with the death eaters. At least they'll admit to wanting to kill me. My so called friends would deny it even when the knife is in my back."

"Surely you are mistaken," Dumbledore said sadly. "It's important that you don't lose faith in humanity. All shall be lost for everyone then."

"Listen," Harry said hotly. "I'm only here due to your interference. If you hadn't passed that infernal law, I'd be far away from here by now. I'd be out of this school and out of this country. Away from the idiots who run both of them. So, get to the point. What do you want this time?"

"Harry, you are the most important person in this castle. Dare I say even the entire country. If the Voldemort was to get his hands on you, the cause would be lost. That is part of the reason I chose you for …"

"This is all this is to you, isn't it?" Harry asked. "The cause? More like your cause. Well, screw the cause. It can go to hell for all I care. I never supported it and never will."

After listening to Harry's outbursts for the past two years, he had learned to ignore them for the most part. They were usually all about Harry wanting to leave everything behind. For the life of him, he couldn't figure why the boy couldn't get it through his head that he had a destiny to fulfill.

"That's not why I asked you to come here today," he said. "I asked you to come here for a mission. I believe that it's one you will enjoy."

"I doubt it," Harry snorted. "Unless it involves me going on a long vacation…"

"I'm afraid that it won't be a vacation," Dumbledore interrupted before Harry could go off on another one of his rants. "But it does involve a trip. A trip to the states."

Perking up at the mention of leaving this godforsaken island, he asked, "What is it that I need to obtain? Someone to escort?"

"A friend of mine has notified me that one of his subordinates has come across a rare item that may be of use to us in the war. Unfortunately, someone must be sent to pick it up. The current guardian refuses to send it in the post. He fears that it might be stolen en route. Now, the law will still be in effect and you have to come back here. You still have six more months before you graduate."

"Did you ever think he might have a good reason," Harry asked in disbelief. "He may very well be right."

"Be that as it may, you'll be going to pick it up."

Thinking that this may be his chance to escape, he said, "Sure. I'll be glad to go and get the item for you. When do I leave?" There had to be some way around the law. Some loop hole or something.

"You will be traveling with Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Vance. The four of you will get the item and return to Hogwarts as fast as you can."

He knew it was too good to be true. The old man was sure to be sending someone to keep an eye on him. "Fine. Just let me gather my stuff and we'll be on our way. Have the location ready when I return."

As he soon as he was out of the old man's sight, he started to plan on how to escape his minders. It shouldn't be too hard. After all, he had been trained to defeat the Dark Lord. How hard could three morons be?

000

Hogwarts Apparation Site One

"Harry, where have you been," Hermione demanded as soon as she saw him. "We've been waiting for ten minutes."

"There's been a change of plans," he said. "Ron and I are to leave from site two while you and Vance leave from one. Dumbledore said we are to meet up at this location then proceed to jump several times. Once we jump for the fourth time, we open this letter which will detail the final jump."

"But," she started to say.

"Come along Ron," Harry interrupted. "We've got to get this for Dumbledore."

Harry started to walk away without even checking to see if they were following his orders. After all, he said the magic word. Dumbledore.

000

Hogwarts Apparation Site Two

"So what does the letter say," Ron asked.

"I don't know since we aren't supposed to read it until we reach the second to last jump," Harry replied while he slipped his wand into his palm.

"Come on," Ron protested. "It's not like he'll know."

Before Ron could turn around, Harry silently cast his spell, "Confundo."

Only sparing a second to make sure the spell held, he apparated to the closest international portkey shop and proceeded to purchase one for the states.

000

Sunnydale, California

"Okay, I'm so not doing that again," Harry grumbled as he climbed to his feet. "I can now say for sure that international portkeys are worse than localized ones. And taking a localized portkey right after taking an international one is definitely not recommended. At least those nice agents at customs had a pill that lessened the effects of portkey travel."

As he took in his surroundings, he noticed that he appeared to be in the alley close to the center of town. Deciding that standing there wasn't going to get him anywhere, he walked out of the alley to get a better idea of where he was.

Unfortunately, that didn't seem to help matters. There didn't seem to be any indication of where he landed. Seeing a man walking down the sidewalk, he called out, "Sir, could you tell me if this is Sunnydale?"

Looking at Harry as if he was crazy, he said, "How did you get here if you don't know where you are?"

"I didn't see any signs as I came into town," he said as he shrugged.

Shaking his head, "Yes, you're in Sunnydale. But if you know what's good for you, you'll keep on going till you leave. It's not safe here. I'd leave if I was able to afford the move."

"High crime rate," Harry asked.

"I don't think crime is the correct word to use," he said. "People disappear from here all the time. There's always something strange going on."

"Thanks, I'll take that under advisement. Before you leave, you wouldn't happen to know someone named Giles?"

"Sorry, can't help you there," he said. "Though, if your friend is smart, he'll tell you to leave and not come back."

"Thanks, I think."

000

Rocky Flats, Colorado

"Where are they," Vance complained after meeting back up with Hermione. They had looked around the area but it seemed that Harry and Ron didn't make it here. "They should be here by now."

Hermione could only nod her head in response as she looked around at their surroundings. This was the location of the first jump but there was no sign of Harry or Ron.

"Maybe they were held up by Dumbledore," Hermione said. "We should wait a bit to see if they show up. If they're not here in thirty minutes, we'll send the Headmaster a message."

"I don't think we have thirty minutes," Vance said as she looked past Hermione. "I don't think we have thirty seconds."

Looking behind her, Hermione gasped as she spotted the armed men surrounding them.

"Place your hands above your head," one of the men said. "You are under arrest for trespassing on government property."

"What are you…" Hermione tried to say as she was roughly handcuffed.

"Quiet," Vance hissed. "Don't say anything and let me handle this."

"Maybe you should take your own advice," the man said. "It's not looking good for either of you."

"We like to speak to a representative from Division Eight of the FBI."

"Division Eight?" the man asked, "Can't say that I've ever heard of that one before."

"Just call the agency and ask for them," she argued. "They will know what you are talking about."

"We'll call them," he assured, "But it will have to wait four days. We are running several tests up here and all communication is down until they have run their course."

Turning to one of his men, he asked, "Did you find anything?"

"Just these sticks," the man said as he held up their wands, "And these bottles with different colored liquids."

"Bag them," he said. "Take them to lockup and we can deal with them once the tests are over with."

"Aye sir," the man saluted.

000

Hogwarts Apparation Site Two

"Mr. Weasley, what are you doing still here," Dumbledore asked. He had decided to personally check the apparation site when the wards told him that there was someone located within the ward lines. He had found that odd since there wasn't to be any trips today.

"Hello Professor," Ron said as he hopped around the room. "You wouldn't happen to have any carrots would you?"

"Carrots," Dumbledore asked. "Why aren't you with the others? And please stop hopping."

"I'm Bugs Bunny," Ron said. "And this is what I do. What's up Doc?"

"Bugs…" Dumbledore started to ask before he realized what was going on. After casting the counter curse, he asked the question again.

"Sorry professor," Ron said as he rubbed his feet. "I guess I let my guard down."

"But what happened," he persisted. "Where are the others?"

"Harry said that you wanted us to jump from here while Hermione and Vance jumped from site one. Well, once we got here, he cursed me."

"Why would you all assume that I wanted you to use two sites instead of one?"

"I don't know…"

"Never mind, that's not important right now," he waved Ron off. "At least Hermione and Vance will be there."

"How many times did you want us to apparate?" Ron asked.

"How many times…" Dumbledore started to repeat until he finally realized what had happened. Harry had tricked them. With any luck he could have Moody over there to bring him back. "I should have sent him with Harry to start with," he muttered. "At least he wouldn't have fallen for the trick."

000

Sunnydale

"Excuse me ma'am," Harry said as he walked up to a lady working in her garden. "Could you tell me if a Mr. Giles lives in the house next door? There doesn't seem to be anyone home right now."

Looking up at the young man, she said. "Rupert is the librarian at the local high school. Go ten blocks that way and then turn right. Go five more blocks and you can't miss it. That dear man works too many hours at that school. He must really love his job."

"Thanks," he said as he started to walk away.

"Young man," she called out. "Be sure that you are in doors by dusk."

Thinking that the man from earlier wasn't the only one off his rocker, he thanked her and went off towards the school.

000

Sunnydale High School

Harry took in everything as he walked through the halls of the school. He could only shake his head as he thought that this might be what his life was like if he had not gone to Hogwarts. Following the directions that the janitor gave to him, he made his way to the library.

Opening the door, he was impressed at the layout. While not on the same scale as the Hogwart's library, it was still impressive. It gave off a welcoming feeling that one might find in their own private library.

"May I help you," a voice asked from his left.

Jumping slightly, he said, "Yes, I'm looking for a Mr. Giles. I was told that I could find him here."

"I'm Rupert Giles," the man identified himself. "How may I help you?"

Harry couldn't help but notice that the man who claimed to be this Giles character kept at least a five foot distance between the two of them at all times.

"Yes," Harry answered. "I was sent here to pick up an item that you have come into possession of. Whatever it may be, I've got no clue. I was just told that you didn't want to send it through the post."

"Yes," the man said as he wiped his glasses. "I assume that you work for Albus Dumbledore. Is there any way you can prove it?"

"Let's get one thing straight before we go any further," Harry said. "I don't work for that man. I don't work for anyone but myself. Whatever delusions that old man has, he can take them and shove them up his wrinkled…"

"Well," Giles hurriedly said. "I cannot in good faith give the item to you without knowing that you are who you claim to be."

"Oh yeah," Harry said as he reached into his pocket. Holding up a wrinkled piece of paper, he said, "I have this."

Taking the paper, Giles found that it was a letter baring the seal of the Council on it. It told him to release the item to the young man.

"Why didn't you tell me you had this before," Giles sighed. "It would have saved time."

"Didn't think about it," Harry shrugged as he leafed through a book on demon. "Interesting reading material you have here."

"Yes," Giles said hesitantly. "It's just some light reading."

"I'm sure," Harry said in a tone that stated he didn't believe him.

"The item…" he started to say before being interrupted.

"Giles," a girls voice rang out as the doors were pushed open. "There was some bad mojo going on down at the Bronx last night. There was this girl…" She stopped when she saw that Giles had a visitor, "…who danced with every guy in the building."

"Buffy, what have I told you about banging my doors open? One of these days..."

"Who's the hot guy," a red headed girl asked as she stepped forward.

"Willow," Buffy whispered. "Not now."

Before they could get into an argument over guys, Giles interrupted, "This is…"

"Harry."

"Thanks," Giles said as he looked over at his guest. "This is Harry and he is here to pick up an item the council has released into his groups possession. Turning to Harry, he said, "This is Buffy Summers and her friend is Willow Rosenberg."

"As I said, I'm not with them. I'm just stuck following them around for the next six months unless I can figure a way out," Harry argued. "You couldn't pay me enough to join their organization. And it's nice to meet you both."

Looking at Harry in disapproval, Giles said, "Anyway, if you'll wait here, I'll go and retrieve it."

After Giles left, Buffy turned towards Harry to get a better look at him. He wasn't prince charming or anything. But he was nice looking. She could see why Willow acted the way she did.

"See anything you like," Harry quipped while keeping his eyes on the book he was reading. "I can take a picture and sign it if you like? I've gotten pretty good at signing now. The fans love it."

Blushing, Buffy said, "You're not as good looking as you think you are. In fact, I've seen dogs that look better than you."

Lowering the book enough to look over, he said, "Princess, you can think that all you like. You'll admit it one day."

"Admit what," she shot back.

"That you think I'm hot," he said, smiling, "And that you want to ask me out."

"You wouldn't know how to have a good time if it came and slapped you in the face. Face it, the English don't know how to have a good time."

"Well, you got me there," he said. "The English can't party to save their lives. But to tell you the truth, I'm not quite sure what I am actually. My father was Welsh and my mother was Irish."

"That still doesn't mean you know how to have a good time," she repeated, "So I'll need to see some proof."

"What did you have in mind," he asked.

"Tonight at the Bronx," she said, smirking. "You can prove these supposed abilities."

"Sure," Harry said as he sat the book down. "That'll be fine. And thank you."

Looking over at Willow, Buffy couldn't help but notice the she looked like she was about to fall to the floor laughing. Before she could say anything, Giles walked back into the room.

"Sorry about taking so long," he said, holding a small box in his hands. "But I forgot where I put it. I finally remembered that I hid it inside one of my bookcases."

Taking the box, Harry opened it to find a small ring in it. The ring itself wasn't very ornate. A gold band that had some writing inscribed on it, maybe Latin or Greek.

"This is it," Harry asked, slightly skeptical. "It doesn't feel like it has any power to it."

"Oh, it has power to it," Giles said. "It has to be activated before you can feel anything."

"What does it take to activate it," Harry asked, curious.

"Blood," Giles said. "It takes blood to activate it."

"Nice," Harry said as he tucked the box into his pocket. "So, what does the thing do? Turn you invisible? Give you super strength?"

"Nothing so interesting," Buffy said, sourly.

"It turns the owner into a slave of the one whose blood is spread on the ring," Giles said, sighing. "We discovered that the hard way."

"Oh?"

"A friend of Ms. Summers was given the ring by his date," Giles said moved several books away from Harry's feet. "She used it to make him her personal slave until we were able to get it off."

"Kinky," Harry said.

"That's what I said," Willow piped in. "Buffy here said that it wasn't."

"Willow," Buffy whispered. "Let's not tell everyone stuff like that. Things like are best left unsaid."

"Awkward moments are always fun," Harry said, getting up. "You up for a change of plans?"

"Change of plans," Buffy asked. "What sort of change?"

"Oh, I don't know," Harry said slowly, "How about Vegas? Ever been there before? I've never been and thought I'd take a vacation." There was no way he was going back now. The law be damned.

"Vegas? That's not what I quite had in mind," Buffy said.

"But…that's like far away, isn't it?" Willow asked.

"Yes," Giles said. "It's not a drive down the road for sure. I'm afraid that it isn't a good time for Buffy to leave Sunnydale. I need her for some…research."

"Sure," Harry said. "And I'm the farmer's daughter."

"Ummm…, that's nice," Giles said.

"Come on," Harry protested. "Don't play dumb with me. I might have just arrived in town today, but I've seen how strange this town is. Everyone is warning me to be indoors before the sun goes down. People telling me that I should leave town while I still can. The high number of people who go missing around here. The books on demons and other magical creatures. And last but not least, Mr. Giles here has contacts with the magical world in some way."

"Oh," Buffy said. "You figured all of that out since arrived?"

"It wasn't that hard," he admitted. "I've seen stranger things in my life. It wasn't that hard to figure out that you deal with a subspecies of Vampire, demonic if the books give any indication."

"I…" Giles started to say before he stopped.

"What," Harry asked as he looked at everyone around him. They were all staring at him as if had grown another head.

"Who are you," Giles asked. "How did you figure all of that out?"

"Like I said, I see stuff kind of like this every day. I've spent half my life around magical beings."

"What are you talking about," Buffy asked.

Still seeing their confusion, he was starting to think that they weren't on the same page as him. "You do know that I'm a wizard?"

"Like in magic," Willow asked, excited.

"Yep," he said as he pulled his wand out. "See, I even have a wand. I went to a magical school in Scotland, though at this point in my life, I'd say it held me back more than anything. I've learned more than I ever thought I would since I took up private study my last two years."

"Cool," Willow said. "You think you can teach me some spells?"

"Magical school, you say," Giles said, stunned. Even after dealing with vampires and warlocks, he never thought there was any kind of organized magical society. Even the demons were divided for the most part.

"Yeah, I started when I turned eleven. For the next seven years, wizards and witches spend most of their time there."

"And this magic you do will be how we get to Vegas?" Buffy asked. She was getting excited at actually being able to go to Vegas. Sure, she was eighteen now but she never had the chance to check the place out.

"Yeah," he said. "I can just pop over there and pop back. It's not that hard."

"Well," Giles said, clearly flustered. He needed time to make a few calls and ask some people what they knew about any of this. "Have a good time and watch out for anything while you are there. Just because you aren't over a Hellmouth, doesn't mean there isn't anything out there."

"You mean you're going to let me go," Buffy asked, amazed. He usually wouldn't let her do anything like it. Especially at this time of the year.

"Of course," Giles said. "I've got a few things I need to take care of and this will give me the time to do it." Left unsaid, it would require the young wizard to return to the school before he went home. Turning to Willow, "I know you might want to go with them, but I'd like it if you could stay and help me."

"Sure," she said, not sounding as excited as before.

Turning to Harry, Giles said, "Would you like me to hold the ring for you while you are gone? I assure you that it will be safe here."

"No, I'll hold on to it," Harry said. Now that he knew the item was a ring and what it did, he an idea on why Dumbledore wanted it. Dumbledore knew he was losing control of Harry and it wouldn't be too long until he lost all control. The ring would be just what he needed to bring Harry back under his control for good.

Grabbing Harry's hand, Buffy said, "Let's go while we still can. He might change his mind."

"Sure thing," Harry said, smiling. "See you all later."

000

End Chapter 01

000


	2. Chapter  02 To Vegas

Chapter 02- To Vegas

Summary: Harry is asked to go to Sunnydale and pick up something for Dumbledore. In the process, he gets drunk and married. How would a dark, sarcastic Harry face the world with the Slayer besides him? Harry/Buffy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Buffy. The plot is the only thing that I created myself.

A/N: Yes, I know the time line is screwed up in this story. In this story, Buffy is the same age as Harry, 18. Harry has spent the last two years at Hogwarts studying. The Law stated he had to be in school, but it never specified he had to take classes. Buffy was never with Angel in this version.

000

Las Vegas, Nevada

"Urgh," Harry moaned as he sat up. Looking around, he noticed that he was in what appeared to be a hotel, lying on a very comfortable bed.

"Five more minutes, mom," a voice said from under the covers.

Peeking under the covers, he saw Buffy sleeping, a very naked Buffy sleeping. Looking at his self, he noticed that he was as equally naked. "Oh boy, what did I drink last night?"

"No more homework," Buffy moaned.

Getting out of bed, Harry walked over to the dresser to gather some clothes. Upon reaching the table, he saw an official looking piece of paper lying on top of his shirt. "Wonder what this is," he murmured.

"What's going on," Buffy asked, rubbing her eyes. "Where am I?"

"A hotel, it would seem."

Hearing another voice in the room, Buffy covered herself with the sheet. "Harry? What are we doing in here? And naked."

"From what this piece of paper says," he said as he held the paper up, "We're married."

"What," she asked, shocked. "Married?"

"Yeah, it seems that we had a real good time last night. So much fun that we got married."

"Giles is going to kill me," she said. "And you. He won't ever trust me anywhere again. And my mom. She'll either kill you or love you. More then likely she'll love you and kill me. How are we going to explain this to them? And who should we explain it to first?"

"You don't want to try for an annulment or anything?" Harry asked.

"I don't think so," she said, smiling. "I need something stable in my life. I mean, only if you want to try this out. I don't want to force you into anything but if you are willing to give it a try, so am I. I've had so much going on in my life, it's almost unreal."

Shaking his head, he said, "It's almost mid-day and your friends will start getting worried about you. You can have the shower first."

Noticing that he had been keeping his eyes adverted, she decided to have a little fun. It wasn't like he hadn't seen her already. "What's the matter? You've already seen everything I have. And we are married."

Looking over, he said, "I think I'll keep my eyes to myself for now. Much safer for my sanity. I hope."

Shrugging, she stood up and let the sheet drop to the floor, "Suit yourself but if we're married, I'm not going to be sleeping in separate beds. You're going to need to get used to seeing me this way. It's how I sleep anyway."

"Sure," Harry said as he averted his eyes, which had started to drift, when the sheet fell. He had to admit that she was hot.

Smiling at her little victory, she walked towards the bathroom and made sure to leave the door open as she got in the shower. Calling out to him, "You can join me if you like."

000

Rocky Flats, Colorado

"And don't enter the country again without going through customs," the agent from Division Eight said. "Next time it will be jail. You're lucky that all you're facing is a fine. And this is one reason we have visitors go through customs. To ensure that they don't enter a restricted site."

"I understand," Vance said as she stood up from the table. "Once we find out where our friend is, we'll be leaving anyway. We were just here to pick up a something for a friend."

"Whatever," the agent said. "Just don't do it again. And when you leave, make sure you leave through a checkpoint."

Leaving the room, Vance walked over towards Hermione who was waiting on her. "Did you get in touch with Dumbledore?"

"Yes," she said. "It seems that Harry cursed Ron and took off on his own. He gave me the location of the item. We are to retrieve it and bring back Harry if he is there. If he's not, he said he will send a larger team over to find him."

"Good," Vance said. "Let's go. I don't like how some of those men were looking at me."

"At you," Hermione scoffed. "Why would they want to look at you?"

000

Sunnydale High School

"I'm worried," Xander said as he paced back and forth in the library. "How do you know you can even trust this guy? He could be out to, you know, kill Buffy."

"For the last time," Giles sighed. "After what I found out last night, we couldn't stop him if we wanted to."

He had spent most of the night talking to contacts back in England trying to find out anything he could about these wizards. If they were as large a group that Harry made them out to be, then they had to be records of them somewhere. Willow had spent most of the night reading over any book he thought might contain anything of value.

"Come on," Xander protested. "We've dealt with magic before. I bet Willow could do some hocus pocus and he wouldn't be our problem anymore."

"It's not that simple," Giles said. "Those were individual warlocks and witches. The magic they wield is different than the one he does. And he is a member of a large society of magic users."

"How large," Willow asked.

"Let's just say that they have enclaves around the world, all interconnected in some way. And one of my contacts isn't sure but he suspects that this Harry is special."

"Special?" Xander asked, "How so?"

"As in the Chosen One special," Giles said.

"Like the Slayer," Willow piped in.

"Something like that, except that he is a legend to the people over there. Something about him being the Chooser of Fate, or something."

"That's all well and good, but what about Buffy," Xander asked again. "She still could be in danger."

"We'll have to trust that she can handle herself," Giles said. He didn't want to show it to the others, but he was just as worried about Buffy as the others were. He saw her as a daughter and couldn't bear it if something happened to her.

"It's nice to know you all have so much confidence in me," a voice said from the doorway."You'd think that I've never faced life threatening situations before."

"Buffy," Willow cried as she ran over and hugged her friend. "You're back."

"I thought this was just going to be a trip to Vegas and back before…"

"Hey," Harry said as he held up a hand. "We never agreed on a time. I never even said that we'd be back by today."

"Where have you been," Xander asked, shooting Harry a glare.

"We were in Vegas," Harry said.

"I'm not talking to you," Xander retorted. "I asked my friend."

"What he said," Buffy responded, pointing to Harry. "We were in Vegas the entire night."

"Where did you stay," Willow asked.

"A hotel," Harry said before Buffy could reply. "It was a really nice one with the view of the strip."

Looking at Harry suspiciously, Xander asked, "Where did the two of you sleep."

Looking at Buffy, Harry said, "They're going to find out eventually. We might as well tell them."

"Tell us what," Giles said, dreading the answer. He had a sinking feeling where this conversation was going.

"Well, you see it's like this," Harry started.

"We got married," Buffy said bluntly. She really didn't want to see Harry go through another long winded explanation again.

"What," three voices cried out at once.

"What were you thinking," Giles said.

"Why you little bast…" Xander started to say before being smacked in the head by Willow.

"Language," she said. Looking at Harry, she said, "If you hurt her, I'll turn you into a fly and feed you to a frog. I don't care how strong a wizard you are."

"Why did you hit me," Xander complained, rubbing his head. "He's the one you should be hitting"

"I think it's cute," Willow said, smiling.

"Are you sure about this Buffy," Giles asked. "We can go down to the courthouse and have this taken care of."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was freaking out at first but once I was fully awake and able to remember the night before, I was okay with. My entire life has been nothing but one roller coaster after another. This is my chance at something of a normal life."

"If you want normal, I'm not the way to go," Harry said. "Nothing in my life has ever been normal."

Taking Harry aside for a moment, Giles quietly whispered so only Harry could hear it. "I still think this is a bad idea but she is of age and there is nothing I can do to change her mind. That said, if you ever hurt her, I'll hunt you to the ends of the Earth. There will be no place you can hide. No amount of power will save you. I'll make you suffer until you are begging for death, then I'll make you suffer some more. Do we have an understanding?"

"Look, I've faced evil greater than anything you could even image," Harry said. "I've seen things that would give you nightmares if you just knew about them. So anything could you do to me wouldn't even come close to scaring me. But I can give you this. While I can't say that I know her that good, well, at all…I'll treat her with respect and do everything in my power to keep her safe."

"Good," Giles said louder, clapping in on the back. "I'm sure that we'll soon be the best of friends." Better to keep potential enemies closer.

Before Harry could respond, the doors flew open and in walked the last people he wanted to see at the moment. "Hello Dumbledore. I see that you finally decided to leave your lofty tower and mingle with us mere mortals."

"Hello Harry," Dumbledore smiled. "I'm pleased to see that you are still here. Once I tracked down Ms. Granger and Ms. Vance, I was able to see how cunning you've become. One might have thought you were one of Slytherins own."

"If you're just now seeing what I've become, then you are more senile than I thought," he said, snorting. "I've slowly been slipping free of my shackles over the years. I've finally become the man I was destined to become."

Ignoring Harry's statements, he asked, "Did you retrieve the item that I wanted?"

"Oh, the ring," Harry asked, smiling, "I found out what it is and what it does. Did you know its powers?"

Looking slightly startled, he said, "I merely heard that it was an item of great power and could be used in the war."

"You need to learn to lie better," Harry said. "You're not as good as you used to be. I know what it does and I'm happy to say that you won't ever have the chance to use it on me."

Paling, Giles asked, "You were planning on enslaving him?"

"This is none of your business, muggle," Moody said as he threw off his invisibly cloak. "This is wizards business." Turning to Buffy who he saw sliding closer to him, he said, "And this is none of yours either."

"It is my business," she said, hotly. "That's my husband that you are threatening."

With a shocked look on his face, Dumbledore could only move his head back and forth between Harry and Buffy.

"Moody, you best move your wand away from my wife," Harry warned as he slipped his wand into his hand. Even though he'd only been married for a few hours now, he wasn't about to let some has-been Auror draw on his wife. "If not, you'll be losing a few more body parts."

"I'm sure that we can all resolve this peacefully," Dumbledore said. "Let's all just put our wands away."

"Like hell," Harry muttered as he changed his target to Dumbledore. "The time for ending this little issue peacefully ended years ago. I'm taking control of this war. You've been leading us into the ground since it started. It's time to spill the blood of our enemies instead of our own."

"You got married," Hermione said, aghast. "But…but you've only been gone for a day."

Seeing Hermione standing just inside the doorway, he said, "Are there any others out there?"

"What," she said in confusion.

"Never mind," he sighed. Turning to Dumbledore, he said, "You can't make me go back unless I choose to on my own terms. And plus, I've decided that I like it over here. There is no dark lord trying to kill me. No newspapers trying to either idolize or crucify me. It's nice."

"We do have demonic vampires, werewolves, witches, and the like over here," Willow said.

"You're not helping," Buffy ground out, shooting Willow a glare.

"Sorry," she said, sheepishly.

Shaking his head, Harry continued, "I'll be returning to deal with Voldemort, but it will be on my terms. I'm going to kill him and be done with it. You can deal with any Death Eaters that survive."

"I'm afraid that I can't allow you this much freedom," Dumbledore said, finally drawing his wand.

"Hold on now," Giles said, stepping forward. "This is a place of learning. Not a battlefield."

Not bothering to turn around, Dumbledore said, "Stay out of this. It doesn't concern you. This is a matter between Harry and myself."

"No, this is a matter of you wanting to control everything around you," Harry snarled. "It's always been about that. You got a taste of fame when you won the last war and you're afraid of losing it. Face it old man, you're yesterdays news. By the time I'm done with you and Voldemort, no one will even remember what you did after the last war. All they will remember is how you are a manipulative old man."

"Come on Potter," Moody growled out. "Come peacefully and there won't be a need for any extra collateral damages today."

Smiling, Harry said, "You want to know something? I think you all came into the country without letting the proper authorities know you are here. So, while your magic is not registered and will show up as hostile invaders, mine will show up as having permission to be in the country. Guess you didn't learn from your last experience."

"They wouldn't..." Moody started to say.

"Oh, they would," Harry smiled. "If you don't leave now, I'm sure the Americans will love the press they get when the announce who they captured invading their borders."

Growling, Dumbledore gritted out, "Come on. We're leaving." Turning to Harry, he said, "This isn't over. You will be back home soon."

With that, the Order left the library and its occupants to their thoughts.

000

End Chapter Two


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